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Shea to miss upcoming USMNT qualifiers (and Donovan leaves Galaxy match with injury)

BrekSheaUSMNTSTripes (ISIPhotos.com)

Photo by ISIPhotos.com

By IVES GALARCEP

CARSON, Calif.– While Eddie Johnson revealed at least one surprise in the upcoming U.S. Men's National Team roster for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers, there will at least be one more.

Sources have confirmed to SBI that FC Dallas midfielder Brek Shea will not be called up by Jurgen Klinsmann for the upcoming qualifiers against Antigua & Barbuda and Guatemala.

There are no details yet as to why Shea won't take part in the qualifiers on Friday and October 16th, but it should be noted he left FC Dallas' last match, a 3-3 draw vs. San Jose last week, early with with appeared to be an injury.

With Shea out, and with Landon Donovan having suffered an injury late in the LA Galaxy's 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake on Saturday night, Jurgen Klinsmann will likely need to look at new wing midfield options heading into the upcoming qualifiers.

Donovan was forced out of Saturday's match after landing awkwardly after taking a shot. He left the match soon after and at the final whistle he could be seen walking gingerly as he headed to the locker room.

What do you think of these developments? Think Graham Zusi will be a clear-cut starter for the upcoming matches? Who would you like to see called up in Shea and Donovan's place (if Donovan can't play)?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I think Brek Shea is horrible in the first place and doesn’t belong on the squad as it is. I would like to see Graham Zusi fill the role of Donovan(or even play along side of Donovan when he returns). Also, I feel like Kyle Bekerman needs to be finally kicked to the curb. When Stuart Holden is healthy again, I would like to see him back on the pitch for USMNT(people forget about him) I’m just so weary of Jurgen’s line-up choices and I hope he doesnt make me mad today with who he calls up.

    Reply
  2. If you were watching JK moves since he came in (like you said) and actually watched his interviews after the games you will know he likes the Barcelona and Ajax formations(4-3-3, surely you’ve heard of this). He couldn’t impliment it effectively because our forwards kept running out of gas, because this formation needed our forwards to track back immediately after they lost the ball (like Messi or Inesta), attacking and defending as a group and he feared that he wouldn’t have any forwards left for subs (at the time he had Buddle and Altidore).
    Next was the 4-4-2 which he tried both diamond and flat, then later the 4-2-3-1 (a formation which most of the top clubs in Europe DON’T use).
    He also stated that he is not bound to or favors any particular formation, that its just a matter of the players he has and the opponent that he’s going up against.
    So unless you’re seen a tweet or he sent you an email you have no idea what formation he is going to be fielding, just like me and others like you said on this site

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  3. hey GW,

    we agree everyone sees that LD has been more absent, and that there has been a need for wide play on both sides of the field. Zusi was a great run out, he’s responded with club and is primed to contribute to the Nats again soon. He’s an MLSer, I dig it! Glad when he got his big opportunity he stepped up

    On Klinsmann, to me his big challenge is the short term of his tenure so he’s still looking for some answers as he adjusts his initial ideas even after finding many key answers. If he’d have started the job right after South Africa he could have done all this sorting out then, a normal process for a new coach, in those years that turned out to be Bradley’s lame duck period, but instead he has to do it now.

    I think he will too, and the players will respond. Looking forward to see what he does in the next one

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  4. TOP,

    I have to give you credit for “There is only so much oil in the ground”.

    What does your comment have to do with anything we talked about?

    It was well known before the tournament that Bradley had to win it (and do not forget, get the USMNT into the 2013 Confederations Cup)or he was probably toast.

    Whether he was going for a third goal or whether he was trying to shut it down, losing Dolo was a big blow.

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  5. hind sight is 20-20

    Bradley didn’t go for the 3rd goal vs. Brazil and lost 3-2 Confed Cup. So he went for it in the Mexico game Gold Cup and they lost playing that tactic too.

    I can understand that decision making, even though it turned out how it did. Bradley’s belief in Bornstein is ultimately what doomed that game, and brought the final axe for Bradley himself, my opinion

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  6. bbum,

    I doubt Klinsmann planned on having so many injuries to key players or to have Dempsey without a club for so long that he was not at his best for the qualifiers until now.

    But if you are telling me JK did not notice that since he took over Donovan has been more absent than not, then you think JK is a lot more stupid than I do.

    JK has been bringing Zusi, Shea, Castillo and Corona along more or less from the start, with varying degrees of success to date.

    Maybe it had nothing to do with Donovan’s poor attendance but I don’t believe in coincidences much.

    Reply
  7. Replacements for Donovan:
    Gatt, Corona, or Bedoya. All have speed and are good right footed options. Zusi was already going to be called up.
    Replacement for Shea:
    Not that he was a lock to be called or play, but he could/should be replaced with Pontious…best option right now.

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  8. Lots of extraneous comments. Who should be called in to replace Dempsey and Shea, not who should start is the question. If Klinsman wants a left winger for Shea, Beasley has the experience and has been playing regularly in Mexico. In lieu of Donovan maybe bring in someone creative like Adu. Time for Pontius or Wondo or Eddie Johnson to get a look? Or how about Dax McCarty for midfield? Don’t have a chance to see Gatt or Diskerud, so don’t know how they would fit. Kljestan is certainly another possibility in midfield. Personally, I’d like to see a play maker like Adu along with Jones and Bradley in midfield and play Gomez, Dempsey, and Altidore up top or have Dempsey play slightly behind the strikers. We need to score goals to move on and you know that both A&B and Guatemala will bunker in so we need attackers.

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  9. I don’t recall in qualifying Bradley ever being without Donovan, and/or Dempsey (not being fit), and then Bradley Jr as well. This is what 2 years in so there is another 2 years to go. At this pace Klinsmann will have been without more key players then Bradley.

    Reply
  10. Paaaaaaace… (no Donovan no Shea) we need pace. Pontius and Zusi are solid but not helping in the pace category. This needs to get resolved or it will be a rather uneventful pair of qualifiers offensively relying only on set pieces and crosses, and Jozy left again stranded up front.

    Been a while since there was a decent US counter attack!

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  11. See above comment regarding only 5% of international teams losing losing games after leading 2-0. Injuries are a part of the game, but what was not wise is to admit that you were going for a third goal when you should have been trying to close out the game. That was a tactical mistake that had very little to do with Cherundolo getting injured (although we all know that Bornstein’s inclusion didn’t help matters).

    Reply
  12. he should never have been hired for a second cycle, and the reason he was is because Gulati and Klinsmann played chicken with the national team

    biggest hand in ll of this was Gulati’s inability to close Klinsmann, and then being forced to rehire Bradley when all knew he should have been replaced

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  13. “Since it’s not his job to develop them, he goes with what he has.” wrong, and Klinsmann has said as much. Of course he has a hand in developing these guys, especially the ones he has insisted on playing out of position because he wanted to develop them there, out of club position!!!

    duh

    And anyway, Klinsmann is shown respect, and when he earns more, which I expect, he’ll earn more. You folks who think he walks on water are hilarious

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  14. What about Bradley kept Gomez on the bench using Findley on top instead of a young Herculez Gomez during the world cup in South Africa lol!! Man I’m so happy BBradley is gone.

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  15. That is all well and good but what you wrote
    is irrelevant.

    If Dolo does not get hurt is very likely that Bradley does not have a chance to make any of the “mistakes” you mentioned.

    Bradley most likely would have been fired anyway but losing that final made the decision a lot easier.

    Reply
  16. It’s called a 4-2-3-1. It is a pretty standard formation in Europe. Four defenders, five midfielders and one striker. Depending on the talents of the five midfielders it can shift between offense or defensive quickly.

    Fabian is the key to this as his dreaded “natural position” is central midfield as I recall.

    Surely you’ve heard of the formation?

    The personnel I chose are very offensively oriented but that seems to be the idea.

    I know this based on watching JK’s moves since he came in which means it is about as likely to happen as any of the other formations which people like you and others have put out on this site.

    Reply
  17. Yeah. Good idea. Play Castillo or Gatt there. Castillo seemed to enjoy moving forward the last time I saw him play. I don’t know too much about Pontius, but I like that idea too because Brek Shea is a decent player but not decent enough for the seleccion.

    Reply

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